1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shield apparatus to be worn by an individual to protect his forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears and the top of his head from projectiles thrown or shot at the wearer. More particularly, it relates to a shield apparatus of the described type which is molded of a plastic material, is light-weight and inexpensive in comparison to helmet-type protective head gear which primarily protects only the head and not the face. The shield device is designed to include a removable eye shield. The eye shield can easily be removed to allow a user to exchange eye shields or to clean the eye shield. An eye shield can then be inserted into the shield device. The shield device is designed so that the eye shield can not be removed while the shield device is in use on the wearer.
2. Description of the Known Art
Protective head gear or helmets are worn for safety reasons by many individuals on their jobs and in playing many sports. In particular, most construction workers are required to wear “hard hats,” one example of the many different types of protective head gear. In some instances workers wear both a hard hat and safety goggles to protect their heads and eyes from injury. In sports, football for example, the players wear football helmets to protect their heads. The same is true with hockey players. They generally wear face masks. These head gears and/or face masks generally protect either the head or face, but not both. Furthermore, they do not protect both the face and head from objects thrown or shot at the wearer. Recently, paint ball, another sport, has increased in popularity. During this game the players shoot paint pellets at one another. These paint pellets travel at a relatively high velocity, and if a player is hit in the face by one of them, serious injury can result. Helmets designed to protect the head from injury will not protect the face in such cases, and those designed to protect the face do not protect the head.
Details of different types of masks are outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,183 issued to DeHaan et al. on May 3, 2005; U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,098 issued to Lee on Oct. 22, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,749 issued to Cyr on May 7, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,410 issued to Dondero on Apr. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,580 issued to Arnette on Sep. 22, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,834 issued to Wilson on Nov. 25, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,876 issued to Cooper et al. on Aug. 29, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,550 issued to Hodgkinson et al. on Sep. 22, 1992; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,697 issued to Hodnett on Jun. 7, 1988. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. Several of these patents describe different areas of the various arts as noted by the following comments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,183 issued to DeHaan et al. on May 3, 2005 discusses a goggle frame and lens assembly in which a secure assembly and disassembly is provided by the tab retention system including a plurality of tabs and mating tab retention holes, a central stability tab and a flush fit between the tabs and the goggle frame when the lens is secured within the front gutter of the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,098 issued to Lee on Oct. 22, 2002 discusses goggles with removable lenses comprising a pair of soft lens rim each with a lens and a cushion in sucker format is formed with the soft lens rim into one body. Two soft lens rims are tied together with a bridge, the soft lens rims and the bridge are formed into one body with soft plastic. A groove in stair shape for the fixing ring and a hole for the fixing mechanism are inside the soft lens rim for a lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,749 issued to Cyr on May 7, 2002 discusses a protective mask adapted to be worn by persons engaging in physical games comprises a body consisting of a lens receiving portion. The lens receiving portion displays an opening which is covered by a removable flexible transparent lens having its opposite extremities configured with engagement portions that mount the lens to the body. A pair of anchor clamps is inserted at each opposite end of the lens to further secure the engagement of the lens to the mask body. The lens receiving portion defines an opening and includes first engaging means adjacent each opposite side end of the opening. The lens has, at each opposite side end, second engaging means adapted to snapingly engage the first engaging means; the lens is flexible in a direction enabling distance variation between the side ends thereof so that manual pressure exerted on the lens causes the lens to snapingly engage with or to disengage from the first engaging means; and removable anchor means mounted at each opposite side end of the lens receiving portion and insertable at the opposite side ends of the lens to further secure the first and second engaging means together in an engagement position. In one form of the invention, the removable anchor means are shaped, on the one hand, to fittingly receive the ends of the lens and, on the other hand, with a slot to receive therethrough the strap that serves to mount the mask to the user's head.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,410 issued to Dondero on Apr. 11, 2000 discusses a goggle system comprised of a lens having a series of notches which interfit with posts, two of which are seen as small cross members in a lens slot which supports and interfits with the edge of the lens. Lens slot exists in both the upper frame and the lower frame. The posts are used to better help the lens to interlock into the upper and lower frames. U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,580 issued to Arnette on Sep. 22, 1998 discusses a multi-sport goggle having a tear-away lens system comprising a “permanent” lens having opposite side edges is provided which fits within grooves formed along the top and bottom frame extents. Permanent lens is first placed into the frame as described above, with the side edges of the lens lying over the outwardly facing surfaces of side extents. Once lens is in place on frame, brackets are secured to areas as described, with top wall portions extending over lens. Each outer-most lens further includes a first pair of holes at the opposite ends of the front pane which may be aligned with and passed over knobbed posts thereby removably securing the stack of outer-most lenses over permanent lens. The lateral pull-straps are secured to one side of the goggle frame, in the manner described below, such that the wearer can successively pull at the outer-most strap, lifting the outer-most lens off of posts and thereby revealing a clean lens therebeneath as needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,834 issued to Wilson on Nov. 25, 1997 discusses goggles with a front wall frame having a lens aperture for receiving a lens assembly that would cover both the wearer's left and right eyes. A lens groove removably receives the peripheral edge of lens assembly. Goggles also have a rear frame member. Rib members have their rear ends connected to rear frame member and their front ends connected to front wall frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,876 issued to Cooper et al. on Aug. 29, 1995 discusses protective eyewear having a wrap-around type lens and a frame which surrounds the upper and side edges of the lens. The frame includes a slot to receive the lens, and the slot has spaced pawls within the slot. The lens includes mating detents within the face of the lens to receive the pawls and thus retain the lens to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,550 issued to Hodgkinson et al. on Sep. 22, 1992 discusses fastener means using a pair of studs affixed to the side portions with ends which are rotatable to lock and release the lens. The lens has a pair of slots formed in it for receiving therethrough the studs and once the studs are extended through the slots, the ends and are rotated to lock the lens in place. A safety lock in the form of a wire is provided for each of the studs to prevent the lens from being inadvertently detached from the field mask. The wires are extended through apertures formed in the ends of the studs and prevent the lens from being detached if the ends of the studs are rotated to a position which would permit the studs to disengage from the slots in the lens through which the studs extend.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,697 issued to Hodnett on Jun. 7, 1988 discusses a face mask which is characterized by a soft rubber or plastic cowl provided with a track insert having pair of tracks spanning an open lens window for receiving a transparent lens slidably mounted in the tracks and closing the lens window. In a preferred embodiment, the lens is a tear-away lens connected at a perforated interface to the next one of several additional lenses wound in end-to-end relationship in a roll, which roll is located inside a canister attached to the track insert of the face mask. Each lens is individually, selectively and sequentially extended through a slot in the canister and through the parallel lens tracks to a track lip projecting from the opposite side of the track insert, when the preceding lens is damaged or coated so as to adversely affect visibility and is removed from the lens tracks. When the damaged lens is slidably extended from the lens tracks in the face mask for removal, a second lens is unrolled from the canister and slidably positioned over the lens window and the damaged lens is torn from the leading edge of the newly positioned lens at the perforated interface between the lenses.
These prior art patents fail to teach the eye shield that can be releasably attached to a frame for a shield apparatus for quick cleaning and replacement and the other advantages of the present invention. Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved shield apparatus is needed to overcome these limitations.